Johnny
by Brownie94
Summary: Johnny Storm,19, has a past that no one knew about, not even Sue. What happens when an accident, that reverts Johnny back to his 5 year old self, reveals a secret well kept by Johnny? Warnings: AU, mentions of child abuse, 12 year gap btw Johnny and Sue.
1. Memories

Disclaimer: I don't own the Fantastic Four, movies or comics, or Chris Evans. I'd be rich if I did.

This is my first attempt at a Fantastic 4 fanfic. Don't know if this is good enough, no seriously I have no idea what I'm doing except that my brain's thinking this, so I'm writing it.

**Warnings**: this will have mentions of child abuse.

This is an AU, it's gonna have flashbacks, and there is a 12 year old gap between Sue and Johnny, at the start of the story. Takes place after Rise of the Silver Surfer.

**Johnny**

Chapter 1: Memories

"_What feeling is so nice as a child's hand in yours? So small, so soft and warm, like a kitten huddling in the shelter of your clasp__." Marjorie Holmes_

_A little boy, who looked to be about the age of five, sat curled up in a ball against the corner in a dark room. As the boy saw a shadow near the door, his face filled with emotion, warring between hope that he would be let out and fear of what was most likely coming. Then the door opened, letting light shine through._

_The boy, whose face is now revealed by the light, is decorated with bruises, clenched his eyes shut against the light he hasn't been exposed to in five hours._

_When the boy's eyes had adjusted to the light, he opened them. Fear overtaking his beautiful, despite the bruises, face and his soulful, deep blue eyes, when he sees the murderous expression on the man, his foster father's, face. The man grabbed the boy by his shirt collar and reared back his right hand…_

Nineteen year old Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, woke up with a barely muffled scream. Taking a deep breath, Johnny sighed and tried to relax, running his fingers through his hair. Using the back of his hand to wipe the cold sweat off his face, he walked towards the only bathroom in the Baxter Building, walking as quietly as he could so he wouldn't wake anyone.

Finally getting there, he used the cold water to rinse his face, and then braced himself against the sink. Damn it! Why couldn't he just forget it? Why did it still affect him after all these years? Why did it always make him revert back to the scared, timid, little five year old kid? Why did it always leave him feeling helpless? It was over thirteen years ago, he should be over it by now, Damn it!

He felt sick, because that helpless five year old, the one locked in the dark room for hours on end, again and again, that was him, Johnny Storm. A part of Johnny Storm, a part that no one, not even his big sister, Sue, knew about. Johnny headed back to his room, and prayed like he'd done many times over the years. The times when he'd needed strength, courage, and will power, because through those torturous six months, God and the promise that his sister was safe and happy, had been the only things that had seen him through, day after day. Determined to never let his sister find out, to be strong enough for them, but especially her, so she never felt guilty, Johnny decided to get some sleep, laying down and clearing his head, like he'd learned years ago, and within a minute, he was out like a light.

…TBC…

(If you want me to?)

Over 400 words!

So whaddya think? Good, iffy, bad, better, could be better? Should I continue?

If you see mistakes, feel free to point them out. I hope I didn't offend anyone like ever and never do it in the future. I am grateful for your support. *scouts honor*(I was never a girl scout.)

Be honest if you think, I'm doing something wrong, and as before mentioned, I have no idea what I'm doing.

*wishes really, _really _hard*hope you enjoyed it, yours truly, Brownie.


	2. Good Luck, Johnny Storm

Disclaimer: I don't own the Fantastic Four, movies or comics, or Chris Evans. I'd be rich if I did. I don't know if an Emporial Building exists, but if it does I don't own it, I also don't own pop tarts but I think they're the coolest thing since sliced bread! I don't know if aliens really exist but I'm not arrogant enough to believe that in this gigantanormous universe, we are the only planet with life.

This is my first attempt at a Fantastic 4 fanfic. Don't know if this is good enough, no seriously I have no idea what I'm doing except that my brain's thinking this, so I'm writing it. I'd like to thank Rose for reviewing, and everyone who reviews after the fact.

**Warnings**: this will have mentions of child abuse.

This is an AU, it's gonna have flashbacks, and there is a 12 year old gap between Sue and Johnny, at the start of the story. Takes place after Rise of the Silver Surfer.

**Johnny**

Chapter 2: Good Luck, Johnny Storm

"_Only when we give joyfully, without hesitation or thought of gain, can we truly know what love means." __Leo Buscaglia_

Previously on Johnny:

_Determined to never let his sister find out, to be strong enough for them, but especially her, so she never felt guilty, Johnny decided to get some sleep, laying down and clearing his head, like he'd learned years ago, and within a minute, he was out like a light._

Johnny awoke to the feeling of someone, Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic, shaking his shoulder, trying to wake him up. He groaned and curled up on his side, stuffing his head under his fluffy blanket, refusing to be pulled away from the feeling of warmth, comfort, and safety that so far in his life only sleep had ever provided. He held onto it with all the strength he could muster, as Reed tried his hardest to take it away from him. Then with one mighty tug, he didn't think Reed had in him, the blanked was gone. Johnny started shivering as the cold morning air struck him, trying his best to curl into himself, trying his best to be warm.

Then a rocky hand was grabbing him by his wrist and pulling him up to his feet. Then before he knew it, Johnny was looking into the eyes of Ben Grimm, aka the Thing, who said, "Suit up, Flame Boy, there's an emergency and we gotta be there ASAP." When he heard what Ben had said, all traces of sleep left Johnny and he was suited and ready to go within 2 minutes. Then the three men headed towards the kitchen, where Sue Storm aka the Invisible Woman, was waiting for them. She was suited up and holding a Hot Fudge Sundae pop tart, which she handed to Johnny when they reached her. As they walked, Johnny opened the wrapper, using his powers to toast it a little, and started eating the chocolaty treat, while Sue explained the situation.

"Someone's holed up in the Emporial Builiding again , the police say he's holding a woman hostage and demanded for us to be there in five minutes or he's gonna kill her. They arrived outside, right as Sue's sum-up of the situation ended. They entered the Fantastic Four Plane, by now Johnny had finished his pop tart, and headed for the Emporial Building.

They arrived at their destination right in the nick of time, for if they had been a second late, the green, fugly-looking thing looked like it would have killed the lady. They ran in and Reed took over, "Let her go!"

The thing that looked like an alien, just kept a straight face and said, "I don't care about her, you're here," he let the lady, he'd been holding, go, and she disappeared into thin air.

Johnny looked shocked, "Was that…that was a hologram right?" The thing nodded, looking over all of them, he came last to Johnny, his gaze lingering, and he smirked, "Now that's interesting, brave, but _ridiculously_ stupid." Johnny's heart started racing, he couldn't know about it, no way, he hadn't told anyone, he was probably talking about something else; he'd done a lot of stupid things over the years. And he was pretty sure no one and nothing could read min.., "Yes, Johnny, yes I can. What can I say, I have a few tricks up my sleeve...Isn't that what you humans say?"

"Boy, I can't believe sister dearest," he looked contemplatively at Sue, and then continued, "doesn't know. Of course, she _was_ enjoying college while you were being ab…" he was cut off by Johnny, before he could expose the biggest secret of his life.

"_Shut up!_ It's none of your business." Everyone could see that Johnny's chest was heaving, as if he was trying to restrain his emotions, and they were starting to get worried. "But Johnny don't you think, that she deserves to know, after all it is her fau…"

Knowing that thing was only trying to play with his emotions, Johnny once again interrupted him, "No, it's not! It was _my _decision, _my_ choice."

Smirking in his now familiar cocky manner, the alien said, "Really…_Really _Johnny, so you _wanted_ to get _beaten every day_ for _six months_, you_ wanted_ to be _starved_, you wanted to get _LLI_ from being locked up in the dark for so long?"

"Shut up! If I wanted to be psychoanalyzed, I would have gone to see a freakin psychiatrist!"

Sue, who had been quiet up until this moment, finally voiced her and the rest of the Fantastic Four's thoughts, "What…_What_ in the _world_ are _you _talking about?"

The alien (?), Johnny really needed to find out what it was, was about to answer Sue, when Johnny tiredly asked, "What do you want from me? Huh. Why are you doing this? What's it gonna give you and just _what_ exactly _are_ you?"

The alien looked at Johnny disapprovingly, as if he should know better than to interrupt continuously, but answered anyway, "What do I want from you, Johnny? I don't want anything from you, I just want you to be happy, and that's why I am doing this."

He was about to keep going when he was once again cut off by Johnny, who looked confused, "Why is my being happy so important to you? Let's forget, for a minute, that telling everyone about it isn't really making me feel better. There are a billion people in the world, who deserve to be saved and happy, if not as much then probably _more_ than I do. So why _me_?"

The slimy-looking creature smiled proudly, although it came out looking more like an awkward grimace, and answered the questions, "That…that's exactly why we picked you. You…no matter how obnoxious you act or pretend to be….you care more about other people than yourself," seeing that Johnny was about to deny everything he'd just said, he raised his hand and continued, "Don't even try to deny it. I can read your mind, remember? You can try to lie to yourself, but it's all in your head, written like a book, I can read it."

Then as if he'd remembered something, he said, "Oh yeah, me…I come from…. what you human know as Mars? My name is Frez." He ignored the gasps of shock emitting from everyone and looking at Johnny continued, "And my master wants me to save you, and now that I've met you," he was now walking towards a frozen, not literally, Johnny, "I want to too." With that he placed his hand on Johnny's forehead, emitting a bluish light, and as Johnny Storm crumbled to the ground, he placed a yellow manila envelope on the ground and disappeared with a softly whispered, "Good Luck, Johnny Storm."

…TBC…

(If you want me to?)

Only 1,000 words! Yay! P.s (alien) Frez is not a main character, but might show up at the end.

So whaddya think? Good, iffy, bad, better, could be better? Should I continue?

If you see mistakes, feel free to point them out. I hope I didn't offend anyone like ever and never do it in the future. I am grateful for your support. *scouts honor*(I was never a girl scout.)

Be honest if you think, I'm doing something wrong, and as before mentioned, I have no idea what I'm doing.

*wishes really, _really _hard*hope you enjoyed it, yours truly, Brownie.


	3. Five

Disclaimer: I don't own the Fantastic Four, movies or comics, or Chris Evans. I'd be rich if I did. I don't know if an Emporial Building exists, but if it does I don't own it, I also don't own pop tarts but I think they're the coolest thing since sliced bread! I don't know if aliens really exist but I'm not arrogant enough to believe that in this gigantanormous universe, we are the only planet with life.

This is my first attempt at a Fantastic 4 fanfic. Don't know if this is good enough, no seriously I have no idea what I'm doing except that my brain's thinking this, so I'm writing it. I'd like to thank yaonne- san and AMBER for reviewing, and everyone who reviews after the fact.

**Warnings**: this will have mentions of child abuse.

This is an AU, it's gonna have flashbacks, and there is a 12 year old gap between Sue and Johnny, at the start of the story. Takes place after Rise of the Silver Surfer.

**Johnny**

Chapter 3: Five

"_All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them." Galileo_

Previously on Johnny:

_With that he placed his hand on Johnny's forehead, emitting a bluish light, and as Johnny Storm crumbled to the ground, he placed a yellow manila envelope on the ground and disappeared with a softly whispered, "Good Luck, Johnny Storm." _

Sue, Reed, and Ben all rushed towards Johnny as he fell. When they reached him, Sue fell to the ground and pulled his head into her lap, running her fingers through his hair, as if trying to comfort him, even in unconsciousness.

"What in the world just happened," Asked Reed, "What was he talking about?"

Sue was about to reply with an "I don't know," when she looked down at Johnny and instead released a gasp of surprise. Reed hearing the gasp, also looked down and couldn't restrain his own identical gasp of surprise, for he too saw what Sue had seen. Johnny's head and body were shrinking in front of their very eyes, so were his clothes.

When the transformation was complete, in the place of Johnny, there was a little boy, who looked to be about five years old. He had short, blonde hair, and a cherubic face, in other words he looked like a miniature Johnny.

Disbelievingly, even though he'd seen it happen in front of his own two eyes, Reed asked, "Is that….Is that _Johnny_?"

Sue still couldn't believe that she was once again, after fourteen years, looking at her five year old little brother, could only nod. Meanwhile, Ben, who'd been just as shocked as everyone else about the unexpected little turn of events, saw the Manila envelope that he could swear hadn't been there when they'd first arrived. Knowing that he couldn't pick it up with his now massive hands, he instead called out, "Reed, get over here!"

When Reed got there not even a minute later, He pointed towards the envelope and said, "Look at that, I don't think it was there when we got here." Reed walked forwards, picked up the envelope, and then opened it. Looking at the first content of the envelope, he couldn't suppress his gasp of horror. It was a picture of a boy with a myriad of painful-looking bruises of a variety of colors covering his beautiful face. The boy had soulful looking beautiful blue eyes, the left one of which was swollen past the point of being any help with sight, but what caught Reed's attention was the haunted look in the eye he could see, which seemed to say, 'you can't imagine what I've been through, but I don't really want you to try.' He knew the boy had blonde hair, but that was from the only portion of it that wasn't matted with blood.

The worst thing about it all was that Reed knew this boy was Johnny, but he couldn't bring himself to believe it. As long as he'd known Sue and Johnny he'd considered Johnny to be obnoxious, conceited, self-assured, the opposite of all the signs indicative of abused children. But now Reed wondered just how much he'd misjudged Johnny. He remembered the alien, Frez's, words, "You…no matter how obnoxious you act or pretend to be….you care more about other people than yourself," and then he remembered what Johnny had said, "There are a billion people in the world, who deserve to be saved and happy, if not as much then probably _more_ than I do. So why _me_?" Those were not words that were used by people that were conceited or had a high opinion of themselves, these were words of people who were selfless, who cared more about other people than themselves.

After contemplating all of this, he couldn't help but wonder how much of the Johnny Storm he knew was a mask and how much was actually the real Johnny. Reed also wondered where Sue was during all this, why wasn't she there for her little brother. He'd determined from her reaction that she didn't know, and wondered why Johnny had never told her. Reed was determined to find out who'd done this to Johnny and when he did, which he would, that person was gonna pay.

What he was unaware of was that these exacts thoughts were also running through the head of another person, Ben Grimm, who'd seen the picture from behind Reed, and was determined to clobber whoever had hurt his matchstick. Then Reed, finally realizing Ben was behind him, turned and they both looked at the Envelope, certain it had all the answers they were looking for, provide courtesy of Frez, the alien.

Then they heard a high-pitched voice question, "Where am I," and simultaneously turned towards Sue, where a scared little five year old boy had finally woken up.

…TBC…

(If you want me to?)

Only 700 words! Yay! P.s (alien) Frez is not a main character, but might show up at the end.

So whaddya think? Good, iffy, bad, better, could be better? Should I continue?

If you see mistakes, feel free to point them out. I hope I didn't offend anyone like ever and never do it in the future. I am grateful for your support. *scouts honor*(I was never a girl scout.)

Be honest if you think, I'm doing something wrong, and as before mentioned, I have no idea what I'm doing.

*wishes really, _really _hard*hope you enjoyed it, yours truly, Brownie.


	4. Grown Up Old People

Disclaimer: I don't own the Fantastic Four, movies or comics, or Chris Evans. I'd be rich if I did. I don't know if an Emporial Building exists, but if it does I don't own it, I also don't own pop tarts but I think they're the coolest thing since sliced bread! I don't know if aliens really exist but I'm not arrogant enough to believe that in this gigantanormous universe, we are the only planet with life.

This is my first attempt at a Fantastic 4 fanfic. Don't know if this is good enough, no seriously I have no idea what I'm doing except that my brain's thinking this, so I'm writing it. I'd like to thank yaonne- san, Rose, xxClois-LuverXX, ShadowWolfDagger, leslie and AMBER for reviewing, and everyone who reviews after the fact.

**Warnings**: this will have mentions of child abuse.

This is an AU, it's gonna have flashbacks, and there is a 12 year old gap between Sue and Johnny, at the start of the story. Takes place after Rise of the Silver Surfer.

**Johnny**

Chapter 4: Grown Up Old People

"_When you can't remember why you're hurt, that's when you're healed." Jane Fonda_

Previously on Johnny:

_Then they heard a high-pitched voice question, "Where am I," and simultaneously turned towards Sue, where a scared little five year old boy had finally woken up._

Johnny, the miniature version, had gotten up, off of Sue's lap, where he'd been resting and was backing away steadily. Studying her warily, when he'd deemed he was far enough, he repeated, "Where am I? Who are you?" He sounded strong despite the fact that he looked scared to death.

Seeing that Sue was speechless, Reed headed towards Johnny, looked him in the eyes, then held his hands up, as if saying, 'I'm not gonna hurt you,' then said, "We're at the Emporial Building in New York City." Then after Johnny had nodded that he'd heard, continued, "I'm Reed Richards," he then pointed at Ben, "that's Ben Grimm," and finally he pointed at Sue, wondering if Johnny would recognize her, "and that…that's Sue Storm, your sis..."

He was interrupted by Johnny, who said, "That's not my sister, my sister's _seventeen _years old, she's at _college_, and she's _not_ a grown-up _old_ person!"

This finally forced Sue to recover from her shock and she walked up to Johnny without hesitating for a moment. She knelt in front of him and raised her hand to place it on his cheek, her eyes widening when he flinched and then blinked when he realized that her gesture wasn't meant to hurt him.

Hand still on his little, baby face, she ran her fingers through his hair short hair soothingly, "Johnny, it's me, your Suzie, look at me."

Eyes wide, as if not believing his eyes, he held up his adorably-tiny, weak hand, and hesitantly rested it on her cheek, as if to make himself believe it wasn't a mirage, that his big sister was really there. His eyes widened when he touched the warm flesh of her cheek, and he stared into her eyes, his eyes widening even more, it would have been comical if not for the serious situation, when he found what he'd been looking for. Then in a second he was in her arms, head tucked into the crook of her neck, holding onto her with all his might.

Sue held on to him just as tightly, feeling the heartbroken sobs wracking through his tiny frame and his big fat tears soaking up neck area of her clothes, but not having it in her to give a care about them. She rubbed big circles on his back, like she'd done before when they were both kids, and murmured nonsensical words of comfort in a vain attempt to soothe him, "Its okay, Johnny. I'm here baby, you're all right. You're fine. Calm down. You're safe, Suzie's got you." She kept up with her litany of words, but as she kept trying to calm down her _baby _brother, one question ran through her head, one she could tell was also running through the minds of Reed and Ben. One that Reed finally voiced, as a whisper, "_What _happened to you, Johnny?"

…TBC…

(If you want me to?)

Over 470 words! Not Yay. I'm sorry for the short chapter and delay, but I've been sick, I just wanted to give yall a little update before I go drown my pain in ice cream.

P.s (alien) Frez is not a main character, but might show up at the end.

So whaddya think? Good, iffy, bad, better, could be better? Should I continue?

If you see mistakes, feel free to point them out. I hope I didn't offend anyone like ever and never do it in the future. I am grateful for your support. *scouts honor*(I was never a girl scout.)

Be honest if you think, I'm doing something wrong, and as before mentioned, I have no idea what I'm doing.

*wishes really, _really _hard*hope you enjoyed it, yours truly, Brownie.


	5. Buddy

Disclaimer: I don't own the Fantastic Four, movies or comics, or Chris Evans. I'd be rich if I did.

This is my first attempt at a Fantastic 4 fanfic. Don't know if this is good enough, no seriously I have no idea what I'm doing except that my brain's thinking this, so I'm writing it. I'd like to thank yaonne- san, ShadowWolfDagger, and leslie for reviewing, and everyone who reviews after the fact.

**Warnings**: this will have mentions of child abuse.

This is an AU, it's gonna have flashbacks, and there is a 12 year old gap between Sue and Johnny, at the start of the story. Takes place after Rise of the Silver Surfer.

**Johnny**

Chapter 5: Buddy

"_Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven." Henry Ward Beecher_

Previously on Johnny: "_What _happened to you, Johnny?"  
Although he didn't say anything, Sue could tell that Johnny had heard what Reed had said due to the sudden tension in his body. Damn it, he'd just relaxed in her arms. She went back to rubbing his back and once he was calm again, asked, "What's wrong, Johnny?"

He face didn't move up from its spot in the crook of her neck and she heard a muffled answer, "nuthin." She could tell he was lying due to the slight crack in his voice at the end, she smiled, Johnny hadn't perfected the art of lying until he was thirteen.

"Hey," said Reed, "Johnny, we gotta get home, Buddy." Johnny got out of her lap and Reed pulled her up onto her feet, they, Ben, Reed, and Sue, headed out assuming Johnny was following them. Sue was shocked when Reed tapped her on her arm and asked, "Where's Johnny?" All three of them turned around simultaneously, feeling something pull in their hearts at seeing Johnny standing where they'd unknowingly left him, looking at them almost longingly.

Ben was the first to react, he started walking towards Johnny. When he reached him, he said, in a way he'd never when Johnny had been nineteen, "Hey buddy, we have to leave, remember? Why are you standing here?"

Johnny nodded and said matter-of-factly, "uh huh, and I'm standing hewr cuz I dunno where ta go."

Ben was confused, "What?"

"I haven't eva been to New 'Ork befow," replied Johnny with a miserable look on his face.

Reed finally realized the problem and feeling a pang in his heart said, "Johnny, you're gonna be staying with Me, Sue, and Ben at the Baxter Building. That's where we live, we're not gonna leave you here alone, I promise I won't leave you." Putting himself out there Reed held out his hand for Johnny to take, as if asking for him to trust him and asked, "You coming?"

Johnny stared at him, as if searching for something. Apparently he'd found whatever it was he was searching for because he said, "Uh huh," and slid his tiny, baby soft hand into Reed's longer more calloused one. Reed couldn't believe how fragile it felt, causing truckloads of feelings of protectiveness for this innocent, hurt little boy to rise up within him and Reed knew he'd been hooked for life, knew he'd die for the little boy now held his hand oh so trustingly.

Pulling himself out of his internal monologue as they started walking, Reed looked down and smiled at Johnny, attempting to make him feel more comfortable, and saw that he was trying to hold back a yawn. "You sleepy?"

Shaking his head, Johnny answered, "No," even as another yawn forced its way out. Reed held back his amused smile and watched Johnny. He was now rubbing his eyes with his free hand in an attempt to make the sleepiness go away. Just before they reached Ben and Sue, as Johnny's eyes stayed close a second longer than necessary and his steps faltered, Reed smiled and said, "I can see that." Then he grabbed him under his shoulders, pulled him up, and set him on his hip. He was pleased to find that Johnny didn't flinch. He felt ecstatic when instead of freaking out, like he'd expected, Johnny wrapped his arms loosely around his neck and tucked his face into the crook of his neck. Then a minute later, Reed felt the telltale little puffs of air against his neck and knew Johnny had entered dreamland.

Finally reaching Sue and Ben, Reed, still carrying his precious bundle, said, "Let's get the little guy home."

…TBC…

(If you want me to?)

Hewr is here cuz Johnny can't say his r's right.

Over 600 words! Yay. I'm sorry for the short chapter, but I have to get ready from Prom, everything, my school has a freshmen through senior prom, it's gonna be awesome, it's my first, I'm so stoked.

So whaddya think? Good, iffy, bad, better, could be better? Should I continue?

If you see mistakes, feel free to point them out. I hope I didn't offend anyone like ever and never do it in the future. I am grateful for your support. *scouts honor*(I was never a girl scout.)

Be honest if you think, I'm doing something wrong, and as before mentioned, I have no idea what I'm doing.

*wishes really, _really _hard*hope you enjoyed it, yours truly, Brownie.


	6. Going Home

Disclaimer: I don't own the Fantastic Four, movies or comics, or Chris Evans. I'd be rich if I did.

I'd like to thank yaonne- san, ShadowWolfDagger, amber, rose and penny3 (your crit was appreciated) for reviewing, and everyone who reviews after the fact.

Do you guys want me to remove the recap at the beginning of the chapter? Plz tell me, I'll go with the majority.

**Warnings**: this will have mentions of child abuse.

This is an AU, it's gonna have flashbacks, and there is a 12 year old gap between Sue and Johnny, at the start of the story. Takes place after Rise of the Silver Surfer.

**Johnny**

Chapter 6: Going Home

"_Sacrificing your happiness for the happiness of the one you love is by far, the truest type of love." Herbert Wilson_

Previously on Johnny: _Finally reaching Sue and Ben, Reed, still carrying his precious bundle, said, "Let's get the little guy home."_

With Reed still carrying Johnny and Ben clearing the way, the Fantastic Four headed towards the plane ignoring the questions from the reporters, the flashes of the cameras, the screaming of the fans, and the whispers of "Who's the kid? " and "Where's Johnny?". Thankfully the chaos didn't rouse Johnny from his restful slumber. 'He must have been tired,' thought Reed.

They reached the plane as fast as they could and Reed handed Johnny to Sue, who climbed in and got him buckled up and comfortable, as the guys got seated and Reed revved the engine. She then buckled herself in and said, "All right, we're good to go," and with that they were on their way back to the Baxter Building.

When they arrived at the Baxter Building, parking in Reed's lab, they all got out, Reed once more cradling a still-sleeping Johnny after he'd removed him from the plane, surprisingly enough without rousing him. Ben who still carried the manila envelope said, "Why don't you guys put him to bed. I'm gonna go change and then we can talk about the situation and what's in this thing," he pointed at the envelope as he said the last part.

Nodding, Sue and Reed left for Johnny's room, both lost in their own thoughts, while Ben, still carrying the envelope, left for his room. Entering Johnny's room, they duo didn't bother to turn on the light because it was only ten in the morning and still bright outside. Reed held Johnny securely in his arms while Sue pulled back the covers. When she signaled for him to he then placed Johnny on the large bed, compared to Johnny, and Sue pulled the covers back up, tucking him in. She then kissed Johnny on the forehead, running her fingers through his short hair. Reed couldn't help but admire her and think that she'd make a great mother. As for himself, he didn't know anything about dealing with kids and was just winging it.

He was pulled out of his musings by Sue, who said, "You know it's so strange to see him like this again, so little, so vulnerable. You know, he was this old when our dad died and he had to go into the foster care system," Reed was shocked, he'd always thought that Sue had taken Johnny in after their father had died.

Taking Reed's silence and look for what it was, Sue explained, "I was seventeen years, I couldn't get guardianship over him for an entire year, which was how long he spent in foster care. I was a grade ahead and had gotten a full ride to Princeton, so I went. Johnny was in California. I talked to him on the phone at least once a week for the duration of that year, I couldn't afford to fly out and see him. He didn't tell me about it, Reed…My five year old little brother was being abused Reed...he was being abused and I didn't know it."

Then she started crying and Reed walked over, took a seat next to her on the bed and pulled her into his arms trying his best to comfort her, "He was being abused, Reed…and he didn't tell me…Why didn't he tell me, Reed…He was being abused while I was in college having fun, making friends, dating…You know every time I called him, he would tell me how awesome everything was, how great his foster parents were and I'd feel better." She paused taking a deep breath and then started talking again, determined to get this off of her chest.

"I felt better because he was happy, so I didn't have to feel guilty and Reed all this time my little brother was protecting me! He went through so much and downplayed it, heck he probably ignored it to protect me, to spare my feelings, probably never talked about it to anyone, never getting closure. But me… I couldn't protect my little brother, I didn't even realize anything was wrong. What kind of big sister does that make me, Reed? I failed our parents and I failed him…I failed my baby brother…I failed him."

And with that she started sobbing uncontrollably, too far gone to form words, and Reed tried even harder to comfort his wife, rubbing her back, kissing the top of her head and starting a litany of soothing and loving nothings. When she had calmed down, she pulled herself out of his arms, wiping the wetness off her face and said, "Thanks."

"Anytime," said Reed, smiling.

Sue managed a half-smile and said, "Let's go to the dining room, Ben's probably waiting for us." Reed nodded, standing up then helping Sue to her feet. Holding hands they both walked towards the door, stopping and turning to face Johnny when they reached it. Looking at him, curled up comfortably under the comforter, a tiny curled up fist resting on top of it, they both smiled and whispered, "Sweet dreams, Johnny," then shutting the door the husband-wife duo headed towards the dining room.

…TBC…

(If you want me to?)

Over 840 words! Yay.

So whaddya think? Good, iffy, bad, better, could be better? Should I continue? Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated.

*wishes really, _really _hard*hope you enjoyed it, yours truly, Brownie.


	7. Let's Get Crackin'

Disclaimer: I don't own the Fantastic Four, movies or comics, or Chris Evans. I'd be rich if I did.

**!!Happy Late Easter!!**

I'd like to thank yaonne- san, ShadowWolfDagger, yumi-wheeler, xxClois-LuverXX and penny3 for reviewing, and everyone who reviews after the fact.

This chapter is dedicated to Penny3, thank you for your crit, it has helped shape this chappie, thanx again, hope you like it. Love, Brownie!

**Warnings**: this will have mentions of child abuse.

This is an AU, it's gonna have flashbacks, and there is a 12 year old gap between Sue and Johnny, at the start of the story. Takes place after Rise of the Silver Surfer.

**Johnny**

Chapter 7: Let's Get Crackin'

"_Sacrificing your happiness for the happiness of the one you love is by far, the truest type of love." Herbert Wilson_

When they got to the dining room, Ben, who was waiting for them, raised his eyebrows at Sue's red-rimmed and puffy eyes, but thankfully, thinking better of it, didn't say anything about it. As the couple took their seats across from him, he questioned, "You guys get the kid settled in okay?"

"Yeah, he's still sleeping," answered Sue.

Taking Sue's word for it, Ben asked, "You guys know what I don't get?"

"What?" asked Reed.

"Well, you know how most people, especially little kids, get scared when they see me? Johnny didn't do that. He…he wasn't scared _at all_, he looked and talked to me like I was just a regular person, like old Johnny does, but he knew me, so that was different." Ben was truly perplexed, it seemed that Johnny was more afraid of him when he was older.

Seeing Ben's confusion, Reed asked, "You know what I think," Ben guessed it was a rhetorical question when Reed didn't wait for an answer and kept talking, "I…I think that deep down, Johnny's subconscious remembers us." Seeing Sue and Ben's unconvinced expressions, he elaborated, "I mean, think about it, most abu..," here he paused and looked at Sue from the corner of his eye and changed his choice of words, "most…um...most children with hard pasts have trouble trusting people…" he was interrupted by Sue before he could continue.

"I think you're right, Reed," exclaimed Sue, "He didn't even flinch when you picked him up and Johnny didn't meet you until he was nine years old. And Ben, no matter how much the two of you fight, Johnny knows that you'd never actually hurt him, he could never be scared of you. He never has been."

Ben, who was never comfortable with touchy-feely moments or emotions and was truly desperate to change the subject, said, "So, now that we've figured that out, how in the world are we gonna fix this?"

Holding up the manila envelope, Reed answered Ben's question, "I think the answer lies in this envelope. I mean, didn't it seem like the alien guy, Fez, I think his name was. Didn't it seem like he wanted to _help_ Johnny? Like he wanted him to be happier or something?"

"Yeah he said something about, his boss wanting to "help" Johnny and now that he'd met him he wanted to, too. And I'm pretty sure the envelope wasn't there until after _Fez_ disappeared," said Ben.

Standing up and grabbing the envelope, Reed asked, "You guys ready?" and at their nods, he turned the envelope upside down, spilling its contents, which included a piece of computer paper with writing on it; a letter maybe, a folder, a cloth CD case, and a see-through photo album, the first picture in which was the one Reed and Ben had seen, causing Sue, once she'd seen it, to bite her lip and turn her head away, **'How could she have not know about this, how did she not notice?'**

"You all right, Sue?" asked Ben, his own voice cracking with emotion, but he couldn't help it, _God Damn it_, this was his matchstick, someone he loved like he was his own nephew. And if he couldn't stand to see him like this, he didn't even want to imagine how much it affected Sue.

"Yeah, just…just give me a minute, 'kay," replied Sue, trying to rein in her emotions, then once she'd succeeded, continued, "All right, I'm ready. Let's get crackin'!"

After Sue said that, they all pushed their chairs over to one side of the gigantic dining table, Sue sitting in the middle with Ben and Reed on either side of her, and just like that the three over-drinking-age members of the Fantastic Four started to search for a solution for and the source of their youngest's problems.

…TBC…

(If you want me to?)

Over 630 words! Sorry for the wait, but I'm writing three other stories and had a doctor's appointment.

So whaddya think? Good, iffy, bad, better, could be better? Should I continue? Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated.

*wishes really, _really _hard*hope you enjoyed it, yours truly, Brownie.


	8. The Letter

Disclaimer: I don't own the Fantastic Four, movies or comics, or Chris Evans. I'd be rich if I did.

I'd like to thank yaonne- san, ShadowWolfDagger, yumi-wheeler, special agent Ali, Hio, and penny3 for reviewing, and everyone who reviews after the fact. Sorry for the wait, but I had school business that I had to go away for, and I update in a specific order. Hope you like it.

**Warnings**: this will have mentions of child abuse, and some graphic scenes.

This is an AU, it's gonna have flashbacks, and there is a 12 year old gap between Sue and Johnny, at the start of the story. Takes place after Rise of the Silver Surfer.

**Johnny**

Chapter 8: The Letter

"_Tears are the silent language of grief." Voltaire_

Reed sorted through the files, spotting the numbers on the bottom right hand corner. "Guys, I think we're supposed to look at these in a specific order, starting with this one." He said, holding up what they'd assumed was a letter, with a fancy-looking one on the bottom right hand corner. He then opened the letter and started to read its contents.

**********************************************************************

Dear Fantastic Four,

As you already know, I have regressed Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, into a five year old. There _is_ a reason for that. You see, this is the exact age he was when he was abused and ran away. His last memory is of when Child Protective Services found him, which is after he ran away from his foster father.

The purpose of this, even though you might not believe me, is to help Johnny. When he was five years old he was abused _badly_; but he kept it hidden for the sake of his sister. He never told _anyone_. Now you tell me, what are the ramifications of holding in your emotions and never talking about what happened to you after a traumatic event, especially when you're that young? I changed him back into a child because when you're young, you can't have emotional walls no matter how much you try. People can see what you really feel, no matter how much you don't want them to. And this time you guys will know the real reason for everything. You can help him.

This is your chance to give him a better childhood and raise his self-esteem because, and you should know this if you were there at the Emporial, Johnny doesn't think much of himself. You might not know this though, Johnny was abused for _six_ months and he didn't do anything about it until two girls came in to live with his foster father and him. Apparently, and this is what the girls said when they went to the cops, their foster father beat them and then tried to rape them. Then Johnny came in and tackled his foster father, the man who had been beating _him_ for six months, and told them to run. According to them Johnny was covered with cuts and bruises of various different colors, and he was covered head-to-toe in blood.

When the cops arrived there, the foster father was unconscious and tied up, but there was no trace of Johnny except for a blood-soaked, white t-shirt and a room that had drops of blood spilt all over it. Johnny was found two months later on the streets of Los Angeles. He was doing just fine, making a living for himself, singing quite well if I do say so myself. There are DVD's here, in the CD case, of him that I got from his memory, as there are no visual records or proof of Johnny Storm being abused. This is all from what he remembers, stuff that still haunted him when he was nineteen.

Look at these and do your best to help him. I didn't know it before, but this kid deserves all the love and help in the world. He's had a hard life, but he is still pure at heart, if only everyone had the drive to protect their loved ones and if everyone had the ability to love unconditionally, if the world had more people like him, it would be a better place.

Just take care of him okay? The kid deserves it,

Fez

**************************************************************

Reed then picked up the folder, which was marked as number two. It was so quiet in the room that you could hear a pin drop, which was why they all heard the strangled half-scream that came from Johnny's room. Simultaneously, like the team that they were, they all stood up as fast as they could and raced towards Johnny's room, with Sue leading the pack and storming through the door when they reached it.

**************************************************************

_5 minutes ago, Johnny's room_

_Johnny was cloaked with sweat and whimpering. His face was wet and his hair was stuck to his head and his white nightshirt was so damp you could see through it. He was all tangled up in his sheets and still hadn't quit his struggles with his internal demons. _

"_**Boy, you better clean up this mess." Said Steve, his foster father, looking at the little, five year old boy with a look that promised pain if he didn't do what he was told.**_

_**Shuddering in fear because of the hate that he saw in his foster father's eyes, Johnny stammered out his reply, "Yes…Sir." Steve then left the room, probably to drink some more, and Johnny started on getting his foster father's throw-up cleaned up, the man was a drunk and hangovers certainly didn't help his mood any. **_

_**Johnny, who was only wearing a pair of basketball shorts, was more than halfway done with his chores, he had cleaned the vomit and was now on his second-to-last chore of the day, cleaning the dishes, when suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, he was harshly pushed forward. Johnny screamed when his head came under the now scalding-hot water and his head hit the tap, drawing blood, and then the bottom of the sink with brutal force.**_

_**As he struggled for breath, his head still forced under the water, he heard the sound of his foster father unbuckling his belt and rearing back. Determined in his mission of not giving the man the satisfaction of hearing him scream, he bit his lip and braced himself for what he knew was coming. His plan was thwarted when the belt hit him, the **__metal buckle__** digging into his bare back and Johnny Storm still biting his lip gave a strangled half-scream.**_

_Johnny Storm kicked out, tangling himself further in his sheets and then emitting a scream, fell off of the bed, the long fall effectively pulling him out of his nightmare. He then crawled over to the corner and seated himself with his back to the wall, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. And then resting his head on his knees, for the first time in thirteen years, Johnny Storm cried._

…TBC…

(If you want me to?)

So whaddya think? Good, iffy, bad, better, could be better? Should I continue? Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated.

*wishes really, _really _hard*hope you enjoyed it, yours truly, Brownie.


	9. Getting Somewhere

Disclaimer: I don't own the Fantastic Four, movies or comics, or Chris Evans. I'd be rich if I did.

I'd like to thank yaonne- san, ShadowWolfDagger, yumi-wheeler, SN=love, Johnny-on-the-spot, amber, Keiri Bradon, xxClois-LuverXX, Casey_19 Hio, and penny3 for reviewing, and everyone who reviews after the fact. Sorry for the wait, but I had school business that I had to go away for, and I update in a specific order. Hope you like it.

**Warnings**: this will have mentions of child abuse, and some graphic scenes.

This is an AU, it's gonna have flashbacks, and there is a 12 year old gap between Sue and Johnny, at the start of the story. Takes place after Rise of the Silver Surfer.

**Johnny**

Chapter 9: Getting Somewhere

"_Tears are words the heart can't express." Anonymous._

Sue, Reed, and Ben, in that order, burst into Johnny's room, they took in the mess that was the room. The bed sheets, blankets, and pillows had been kicked every which way and the bed was soaked with so much sweat that it looked like it had gotten into a fight with a water hose and came out on the worse end.

Looking around the room, all three of them spotted Johnny at about the same time, the scene was so sad that it would have pulled at the heart strings of the coldest people on earth; the Grinch, maybe even Lionel Luthor, if he was real and having a good day.

Johnny was curled up in the corner of the room in a fetal position; his knees pulled up to his chest, his arms wrapped around his knees, and his face lying on top of his knees, effectively hiding his face, which was probably the point, but the thing that broke their hearts more than anything were the tiny shudders that wracked his tiny frame as he cried silently.

Once they'd recovered from their surprise at seeing Johnny cry, (the Johnny they knew never did) Sue and Reed both walked toward Johnny, while Ben looking vaguely uncomfortable stayed where he was, he was _not_ good with kids. Reed stopped a couple feet away from Johnny, knowing that kids that had been abused liked some space after they'd had a nightmare about their past. Apparently, Reed realized a little too late, Sue didn't know that and had therefore walked up to Johnny and placed her hand on his shoulder. It was meant to be a comforting gesture, but Johnny flinched and jumped away, as if he'd been burned, finally revealing his face.

His face was tomato-red and covered with tear tracks and his beautiful, sea-blue eyes were red, puffy, and swollen from crying. Sue seemed to be in shock, something that had been happening a lot today, as she didn't seem to notice as Johnny, still facing them, used his hands and feet to crawl away from them, backing himself into another corner and curling up in his earlier position in the opposite corner of his room. The only differences being that he was no longer crying and that his eyes instead of being hidden were peeking out from behind his knees and he looked at them warily.

When Ben, who was not good with handling kids, and Sue, who was apparently _still_ in shock, didn't move to help, Reed determined that it was up to him to help Johnny and so, holding up his hands, as if to say I'm not gonna hurt you, Reed walked toward Johnny, stopped when he was about five feet away from him.

Then smiling comfortingly, or so he hoped, Reed crouched down to Johnny's level and said, "Hey, Johnny."

Reed couldn't help the grin that covered his face when Johnny replied with a muffled whisper, "Hi," apparently Johnny knew good manner since he was a kid, he just hadn't wanted to use them when he was older.

"Do you remember me?" asked Reed, hoping with every fiber of his being that he did, but at the same time knowing that Johnny's regression to his five-year-old self may have left him disoriented until several hours after the fact.

"Uh huh," replied Johnny, finally lifting his head from its hiding place and looking up at Reed, "You're Weed," he said his face scrunching up endearingly in concentration as he tried to get the r sound in Reed right. Reed hoped against hope that nobody saw the "Aw, that's so adorable" smile that covered his face when Johnny did that or they'd make fun of him for life.

"That's right, Buddy," said Reed encouragingly, "Do you remember when we met this morning."

"Yes, Weed," replied Johnny, confused because he didn't know where this conversation was leading.

"Remember how I said that we'd take care of you and that I'd never leave you," he waited for Johnny's nod, which came a second later, "Well that still stands, I promise it always will. Johnny, I know you had a nightmare and I want to help you, if you'll let me. Will you tell me what it was about?"

Johnny looked indecisive, as if he really wanted to tell someone, but wasn't sure if he should, wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do. Trying to encourage him to open up, Reed said, "Johnny, you can tell us. Me, Ben, and Sue we all just wanna help you."

And immediately, as soon as those words were out of his mouth, Reed knew he'd screwed up because Johnny clammed up quicker than someone could say pineapple and said, "Nothing. It was nothing, Weed," apparently he'd said something that had made Johnny's decision easy as pie.

Then, before Reed knew it, Sue was kneeling next to him and looking at Johnny, before she started talking, "Johnny, come on, I'm grown up now…crap, I was grown up then. You don't have to protect me now, you never did. _I'm_ your big sister, _I'm_ supposed to protect_ you_, bang up job I've done so far, and not the other way around." Sue then paused she hated to do this, guilt Johnny into telling her, but she told herself that it was for his own good, which it was, "Johnny, I already know the gist of what happened, but I need you to tell me exactly what happened. Johnny, I never knew then and I hate myself for it, but I _**need**_ to know _now _and I need to help you, or I'll never be able to forgive myself, Johnny. _Please_."

When Sue had said that she needed to know and Johnny's face had gone from looking nauseous to looking defeated and nauseous, Reed had realized the Johnny had given in. Apparently it was true that Johnny would do anything for his sister, Reed wondered why he hadn't believed that to be true until today, but decided to push that to the back of his mind when Johnny, sounding defeated, told them the events of his nightmare, told them about a part of his life that few people on earth knew about.

…TBC…

So whaddya think? Good, iffy, bad, better, could be better? Should I continue? Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated.

*wishes really, _really _hard*hope you enjoyed it, yours truly, Brownie.


	10. Reactions to the Nightmare

Disclaimer: I don't own the Fantastic Four, movies or comics, or Chris Evans. I'd be rich if I did.

I'd like to thank yaonne- san, ShadowWolfDagger, yumi-wheeler, SN=love, omen, Keiri Bradon, and penny3 for reviewing, and everyone who reviews after the fact. Hope you like it, love, Brownie.

**Warnings**: this will have mentions of child abuse, and some graphic scenes.

This is an AU, it's gonna have flashbacks, and there is a 12 year old gap between Sue and Johnny, at the start of the story. Takes place after Rise of the Silver Surfer.

**Johnny**

Chapter 10: Reactions to the Nightmare

"_He who can be a good son will be a good father." Anonymous_

Reed couldn't believe what he'd just heard. How could anyone do that to a kid….to Johnny? Reed was seething with anger and wanted to kill whoever had harmed Johnny, who he'd gotten more attached to in the last not even twenty-four hours than he ever had to Johnny when he was his regular age. Reed couldn't help but wonder if that was because deep down he'd realized that it wasn't the real Johnny, it was just a mask he wore to protect himself.

Speaking of Johnny, he was once again crying, but this time there was someone comforting him, namely Ben, who had gotten over this shock much quicker than either Sue or him, apparently.

**************************************************************

Ben listened to the story, not really surprised by the events, but surprised by the fact that someone was evil enough to do that to an innocent little kid. Yeah, he'd been abused too, but he'd been thirteen when his step-father had hit him, just that one time, leaving him with bruises as evidence, and he hadn't kept quiet about it, he'd told him mom the second he could get out. He hadn't cared about how his mother had felt, he hadn't cared if that had made her unhappy because he hadn't been willing to get hurt just so she could be happy and have the "perfect" marriage.

So, Ben could honestly marvel at the strength and the drive to protect the ones he loved that Johnny had, but had hidden at the age of five, something Ben hadn't had when he was thirteen. All his thoughts, although, were pushed to the back of his mind, when he saw that Johnny was crying and despite his misgivings and doubt that he could do comfort the kid, Ben scooped Johnny up in his arms, ignoring his initial flinch and started moving his arms from side to side (he was pretty sure rocking back and forth would end up in him breaking something).

He made to continue the soothing motion, when Johnny wrapped his tiny arms around his neck and hid his face in the crook of it. Going with plan B, remembering that his mother used to comfort him this way, Ben started rubbing gentle circles on Johnny's tiny back, using the least amount of strength that he could. And eventually the sorrowful sobs turned into hiccups and sniffles, which soon gave way to sleep as Ben could tell by the way the tense, little body in his arms relaxed and went limp.

As he was already standing up, Ben walked over to the bed and gently placed Johnny on it. Then he grabbed a pillow that had been knocked down and placed it under his head. Then he finally found a blanket and tucked the little boy in.

Now that Johnny was taken care of, Ben looked at the other two members of his family, Sue and Reed. Reed looked stricken, but calm and collected, while Sue was releasing so many tears that Ben thought she could give the ocean a run for its money. And, so, prioritizing wisely, he went and tried his best to comfort Sue. He hugged her to him, harder than he had with Johnny and muttered nonsense words of love, not giving a damn when he felt her tears stain his shirt. Besides, he'd heard tears were therapeutic or something like that.

Ben couldn't help, but grin when he realized that she fell asleep just like Johnny; her sobs turning to hiccups and then falling asleep, and just like he had with Johnny, Ben carried her to the bed and laid her down on the empty side. He then tucked the blanket around her, too, and headed toward Reed.

"Reed," he said, shaking his shoulder, causing him to jump back as if he had thought he was alone, and then he saw the fog clear from his eyes.

"Ben," he said, releasing a gust of air, "You scared me half to death!" He then held out a hand to Ben, as if to say help me up, and obviously Ben understood because he pulled him up.

"Are you okay?" asked Ben as they walked toward the bed slowly.

"Me?" asked Reed, "I'm fine."

Ben looked at Reed incredulously and would have been raising his eyebrow if he had one, "Seriously?"

"Yeah," he said as they stopped in front of the bed, facing each other, "I was just surprised that anyone could do that to a little kid, I mean seriously!"

"There's some twisted people in the world, Reed, but he's here now, and like Fez said, we can help him," Then simultaneously they both turned their heads to look at the bed and a smile took over both of their features. They couldn't help it the picture that greeted them was a Kodak moment, if only they had a camera. Sue and Johnny had both drifted from their sides of the bed and moved to the middle, where Sue was lying on her back and Johnny was lying on top of her, his head cushioned in the crook of her neck and her arms wrapped around his tiny form.

"I think this a good place as any to start," said Reed, with Ben nodded in agreement, and then the two men split up. Ben headed to his room, while Reed got in the bed lying next to Sue in what was Johnny's old spot and wrapped his arms around _his_ family, the two people he swore to protect with everything he had, including his life, and went to sleep.

…TBC…

So whaddya think? Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated.

*wishes really, _really _hard*hope you enjoyed it, yours truly, Brownie.


	11. Morning After

Disclaimer: I don't own the Fantastic Four, movies or comics, or Chris Evans. I'd be rich if I did.

I'd like to thank yaonne- san, ShadowWolfDagger, yumi-wheeler, Keiri Bradon, and penny3 for reviewing, and everyone who reviews after the fact. Hope you like it, love, Brownie. Oh yeah, and the Ben and me, not I, is intentional.

**Warnings**: this will have mentions of child abuse, and some graphic scenes.

This is an AU, it's gonna have flashbacks, and there is a 12 year old gap between Sue and Johnny, at the start of the story. Takes place after Rise of the Silver Surfer.

**Johnny**

Chapter 11: Morning After

"_He who can be a good son will be a good father." Anonymous_

Sue awoke to the feeling of small puffs of breath hitting the crook of her neck, which, she realized when she looked down, were coming from Johnny…the five year old version of him. Crap, she had been hoping that it had just been a nightmare, but no such luck. Sue's mood, which had just been down in the dumps, went up considerably when she saw the scene next to her; Reed was sleeping on his side next to her and Johnny, his arms were thrown around them protectively and Johnny's tiny hand was fisted in his shirt.

A soft smile covering her face, Sue carefully, as to not wake them up, removed herself from under Johnny and Reed. Seeing that it was five o'clock and knowing that Reed, Ben, and maybe even Johnny would be up soon, she went to the kitchen to get breakfast started. Once she reached the Sue started gathering all the ingredients she needed to make chocolate chip pancakes, which were Johnny's favorite breakfast since he was little.

As she stirred the batter, Sue thought about everything that had happened yesterday and dang, had it been an action-packed day. Sue was so lost in her thoughts and mixing the batter, cooking was a stress-releaser for her, that she didn't hear Ben, whose approach was always accompanied by the sound of stomping feet, walk in. And that was why she jumped back, went invisible, and almost dropped the batter when he said, "Hey, Suzie."

Going visible and breathing heavily, she, placing the batter back on the counter and then facing Ben, said, "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry," apologized Ben, wondering why she hadn't heard him thundering down the stairs.

Running her fingers through her hair, pushing it back, Sue admitted, "It's not your fault, Ben. I was lost in my thoughts, wondering how we are gonna help Johnny, I didn't even realize it the first time, Ben, what if I mess it up again?"

Smiling at her reassuringly, Ben said, "I can't promise you that we're not gonna mess up and I can assure you that it's not gonna be easy. But what I _can _promise you is that you're not going to be alone, me and Reed, we love the kid as much as you do and we'll do anything for him…" he was interrupted by Reed, whose hair was sticking out every which way and was still wearing his jeans and t-shirt from yesterday and had obviously just woken up.

"Ben's right, Sue," started Reed as he walked up to Sue and pulled her into a hug, "We'll figure it out and besides it can't be worse than last time and he turned out pretty good."

"Yeah, he did, didn't he?" said Sue, in the circle of Reed's arms, truly believing that they could do this for the first time. Then, after kissing Reed on the cheek, she pulled out of his arms, and actually started making the pancakes. While she was doing this, she asked, "Where's Johnny?"

Reed, who was now sitting on the dining table and flipping through Johnny's folder, answered her query, "He's still sleeping, I think everything that happened yesterday wore him out and besides he's five years old now, he's gonna get tired really easily now."

Reed and Ben both started reading the papers, pausing when Reed told Ben something that finally made the news of what kind of person Johnny really was, from at least the age of five until now, hit home, leaving them both wondering as to what the best way to tell Sue was.

The news that they had just learned would simultaneously worry, relieve, and more than likely anger Sue because well, it would make anyone who cared about Johnny angry, but it would probably affect Sue more than anyone because, well, she was his big sister and if anyone in the world had the right to know what had happened it was her. And the fact that some people in Social Services had found out and hadn't told her, his legal guardian of the fact, well, to say the least, it wasn't _exactly_ legal.

Reed was about to just blurt it out, but stopped when he heard the almost silent pitter-patter of tiny feet and quickly realized the only person it could be and held up a hand so Ben didn't blurt it out either. And a minute later, just as he had predicted, a tiny head, the hair on which was sticking up every which way and was probably going against every force of nature, peeked in the door. The owner of said head turned beet red when he saw the three pairs of eyes that were looking at him and, clearly feeling embarrassed, walked in, voicing a shy, "Good Moorwing."

Crouching down to his level and smiling, because she could tell that he was clearly feeling vulnerable because of everything that happened yesterday, Sue said, "Hi, Johnny. Are you hungry?"

She smiled the "aww, that's so adorable" smile that was found on the faces of most mothers, when he peeked up at her through his mop of blonde hair and, with a hesitant smile covering his face, nodded and said, "Yes, pwease."

"All righty," she said as she picked him up and placed him on his booster seat, the one that Reed had found sometime yesterday, "I hope you like choco-chip pancakes with whip cream and milk because that's what I made."

This got the enthusiastic response that she expected from Johnny, reminding her that her baby brother was somewhere in there, "I woves them!"

"Well, that's good," said Reed, picking up the conversation when Sue went to go get the pancakes, "cuz she made a lot!"

"Weally?" asked Johnny, getting more subdued causing Reed to get at himself once more because he was seriously messing this up.

Trying to fix whatever the problem was, Reed asked, "What's wrong, Buddy?" And as he had expected got no response from Johnny and so he tried again. He, placing his hand under Johnny's chin and tilted his head up, not even blinking at Johnny's flinch because he had been expecting it, and, looking him in the eyes, said, "Johnny, I can't fix what's wrong if you don't tell me. I promise I will do anything I will do _everything _I can to fix whatever's wrong, but first you have to tell me. Come on, Kiddo."

With his bottom lip quivering and his blue eyes watering, Johnny looked up at him and confided, "I can't eat wat much, Weed." Reed couldn't believe that he was that worked up over something so little, but then again he _was_ a little kid, and so to assure him that it would be okay, Reed said, "That's okay, Buddy, Sue won't mind…" he was then interrupted by a worried little kid.

"But what if she get angwy and hates me, Weed?" asked Johnny, terrified that the one person he cared about most in the world would hate him.

Knowing by now that the "she won't care" reason wouldn't work on Johnny, Reed said, "Okay, what if...you eat as much as you can and Ben," he said, pointing to him, "and me will eat the rest? What do you think?" Reed internally raised a fist in victory, when Johnny's face lit up and he, almost sounding surprised that someone would do that for him, which made some of Reed's happiness wane, asked, "Weally, you guys would do wat four me?"

This was when Ben, seeing that Reed was lost in the thought that Johnny would think it was a big deal that someone would _eat_ for him, said, "Course we would, Kiddo," he really wanted to add 'We love you' to that, but he was still too closed-up to do that and, so, internally apologized, 'I'm sorry, Johnny.'

They were all pulled out of their thoughts and conversation, when Sue came in with the aroma of chocolate chip pancakes following her. Placing everything, which was, the platter of pancakes, the jar of milk, and the can of whip cream, on the table and then, after taking her own seat at the table, which was next to Johnny, so that he was sitting between Sue and Reed and across from Johnny, she said, "Dig in, guys," and so they did.

Johnny, after placing two pancakes on his plate, reached for the spray, whip cream, bottle and squeezed the metal base, wondering why it didn't work and what had happened to the tubs of whip cream that Sue used to use before. Trying to figure out how it worked, Johnny inadvertently ending up pointing the nozzle at his shirt and running his fingers all over tweaked the nozzle, effectively spraying himself with whip cream.

Then looking at his shirt, he, looking horrified, glanced up at them, expecting them to get mad just as his foster father had every time he had made the smallest mistake, he just hoped that they didn't hit him like he had. He sure as heck hadn't expected them to burst out laughing and for Sue, to reach out with a napkin and wipe the whip cream off of his shirt and order, "Reed, you have to give him a bath after we are done eating," then went back to eating, and Reed, being the perfect husband that he was, replied, "Okay," and sprayed some whip cream on the pancakes for Johnny, poured him some milk, and they finished the meal in peace.

…TBC…

So whaddya think? Good, iffy, bad, better, could be better? Should I continue? Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated.

*wishes really, _really _hard*hope you enjoyed it, yours truly, Brownie.


	12. Someone I Can Trust Part I

Disclaimer: I don't own the Fantastic Four, movies or comics, or Chris Evans. I'd be rich if I did.

I'd like to thank everyone for reviewing, and everyone who reviews after the fact. Hope you like it, love, Brownie.

I'm sorry for the late update, but I've been really busy with a lot of stuff, like sports, ACT, family time, and last, but not least vacation, which I'm still on. For those who haven't been there and those who have; **Niagra Falls is beautiful and if you go, then going on the Maid of Mist tour is a must. **

I'd like to thank everyone for reviewing, and everyone who reviews after the fact. Hope you like it, love, Brownie.

**Warnings**: this will have mentions of child abuse, and some graphic scenes.

This is an AU, it's gonna have flashbacks, and there is a 12 year old gap between Sue and Johnny, at the start of the story. Takes place after Rise of the Silver Surfer.

**Johnny**

Chapter 12: Someone I Can Trust, Part I

"_Trust__ is like a vase... once it's __broken__, though you can fix it the vase will never be same again." Anonymous_

After they'd finished breakfast and Reed had loaded the dishes into the dishwasher, everyone went to perform their duties for the day, which they had determined yesterday for the most part. Sue was going to pick up Alicia and then the two of them were going shopping for clothes for baby Johnny. Ben was going to try and find out more about Johnny's past and he was going to do it in his room so that Johnny didn't see anything that was potentially traumatic. And last, but not least, was Reed, whose job was to give Johnny, who had somehow snuck off in the five minutes he'd spent loading the dishwasher, a bath, but first he had to find him.

Five minutes after he started his search, Reed found Johnny and smiled at the picture he presented. There was little Johnny Storm, sitting on the sofa with his legs tucked underneath him watching what seemed to be a very suspenseful part of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle episode, if the way he was clutching his tiny, rainbow-striped blanket and gnawing on its corner was anything to go by.

"Hey, Johnny," said Reed after he'd made sure that he was in Johnny's line of sight, doing his best to not startle the kid. Obviously his idea didn't work because as soon as the words left his mouth, Johnny coiled up tighter than a string, jumped up, and dropped the remote, still clutching the blanket with his right hand.

But he relaxed as soon as he realized it was Reed and Reed took that as a sign of the boy's growing trust in him and smiled internally. Said boy then blushed, clearly feeling embarrassed because of the spectacle he thought he'd just made of himself, looked up at him through him mop of blonde hair and shyly greeted, "Hey, Weed."

Trying his best to put one of the most important people in his life, one who was steadily climbing up the list, Reed crouched down to Johnny's level and said, "Come on, Buddy. It's time for your bath."

**************************************************************

"Come on, Buddy. It's time for your bath." Johnny's body subtly tensed and he clutched _his_ blankie, as he'd come to think of it, even tighter, if that was possible. Reed obviously hadn't noticed because he just held his arms out to Johnny, the was people do when asking for a hug, clearly more for Johnny's benefit than his own, he knew he'd have been startled if someone had just lifted him, he much preferred knowing what was going to happen to him _before_ it happened.

Johnny Stared at the inviting arms that would lead to his nightmares with wide eyes and then hesitantly walked in. The effect was instantaneous, as soon as he walked into Reed's arms, they locked around him, and, for once, instead of making him feel trapped, the arms made him feel _safe_, safer then he'd felt in a long time. As Reed rose to a standing position, Johnny relaxed and rested his head on Reed's shoulder with his eyes peeking out above it.

As Reed walked, Johnny thought about his situation. He really didn't want to take a bath. He hated them because they always… He was pulled out of his thoughts by the feeling of being moved and the next thing he knew he was standing on the cold, tile floor of the bathroom facing the bathtub.

He watched with wide eyes as Reed, who was sitting on the balls of his feet next to the bathtub, turned the hot water tap to the right. He then squeezed his eyes shut tight when his mind was assaulted with unwanted images, images that played in his head like a filmstrip with sound, images that he wanted to forget, images that, to his mind, had taken place less than six months ago.

**************************************************************

_14 years ago, Johnny's third day with Steve Wandell_

_"Come on, Boy," barked a drunk Steve as he pushed Johnny forward, causing him to fall flat on his face, which jarred his broken wrist and reminded him of the bruises that now covered him body. "Get up," he growled impatiently, and when Johnny's wrist gave out when he tried to push himself up, he grabbed his and roughly yanked him up, pulling out a few strands of hair in the process. He didn't let go, instead he carried Johnny by the hair, ignoring his pained cries, and then when they reached the bathroom, tossed him hard onto the cold, dirty bathroom floor._

_He then walked into the bathroom, headed for the bathtub and said, "It's time for your bath." Johnny didn't know how he could make it seem like he was talking to himself, even when he spoke loud enough that he wouldn't need a microphone to talk to a crowd at a Dora the Explorer show. It took him a while before he realized what Steve had said, he was going to take a bath! This was gonna be great, he thought, excited despite all the beatings his foster father had given him. He was finally gonna do something fun here. He had no reason to think that it would be the exact opposite of that, after all bath time at his old house had been great. He'd always played something –either pirates, dragons, or spaceships – with his mom until she died. The reminder of his loss sobered him up quicker than a dunk in Lake Michigan during winter would have._

_It was only then that he noticed what Steve was doing: turning the red tap to the right, something his mom had done all that time and that was how Johnny knew it was gonna be fun, he was __**so**__ excited. The next thing he knew, he was once more grabbed by his now very sore hair and, then, without any ado tossed into the white ceramic tub filled with what he, as soon as he landed in it, found out to be scorching hot water._

_"Aaah," he screamed in agony as he came in contact with the water, immediately placing each hand on one of the railings of the tub and attempted to push himself up and out of the tub. However, his attempts were halted before he'd even gotten himself into a halfway standing position by a hand on his shoulder pushing him down and ordering him, "Take your shower." But the order didn't deter Johnny, whose skin had turned a very painful-looking and painful-feeling (according to Johnny) shade of red, but his attempts were once more thwarted, this time by a hand on his head._

_Next thing he knew his face was on fire, just like the rest of his body. Then he couldn't breath…Oh, God, he couldn't breath. Johnny struggled to get up and get air, but he couldn't, something was holding him down, but he couldn't remember what it was right now, his chest was hurting and…_

_************************************************************** _

Johnny was pulled out of his nightmarish memories by the feeling of someone gently shaking his shoulder and calling, "Johnny. Johnny!" That was when Johnny returned to the world and, when he did, he was greeted with blue eyes and he instinctively scrambled backwards and away from the person, all the while gasping for breath.

Johnny worked on regaining his breath with his back against the wall, sitting as far away as he could from the person with the blue eyes as he could without actually walking past him or breaking the wall that his back was leaning on. When he'd caught his breath, Johnny calmed down and realized that the owner of the blue eyes wasn't Steve, the owner of those specific eyes was someone who'd only been kind to him, someone who'd tried to help him, and last, but not least, he belatedly realized, someone he could trust.

…TBC…

So whaddya think?

Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated.

*wishes really, _really _hard*hope you enjoyed it, yours truly, Brownie.


	13. Someone I Can Trust Part II

Disclaimer: I do own the fantastic four and Chris Evans…oh wait, that was a dream. Woops!

I'm sorry for the late update, but real life is a real kicker and I'd like to kill the person who came up with the idea of school and the idea of tournaments that start at 8 o'-freakin' clock on Saturday! Sorry for the rant!

I'd like to thank everyone for reviewing, and everyone who reviews after the fact. Hope you like it, love, Brownie.

**Warnings**: this will have mentions of child abuse, and some graphic scenes.

This is an AU, it's gonna have flashbacks, and there is a 12 year old gap between Sue and Johnny, at the start of the story. Takes place after Rise of the Silver Surfer.

**Johnny**

Chapter 13: Someone I Can Trust Part II

"_There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million." Walt Streightiff_

It would be an understatement like "The Hudson River is warm," if Reed said that what happened next _didn't _surprise him. Because he honestly had _not_ expected Johnny, who'd backed away from him as if burned, to come running and throw himself at him with sobs wracking his lithe frame.

But even though he only had a momentary notice, Reed didn't even contemplate _not_ catching the kid as a possibility and widened his stance in anticipation of the added weight. Apparently, Johnny weighed more than Reed assumed or he ran faster because as soon as Johnny collide with him, his arms wrapping around Reed's neck, Reed found his back on the floor, taking the brunt of their fall.

Reed ignored the pain, as he felt Johnny tears stain the collar of his shirt, and with one arm around Johnny's trembling waist, used the other one to push himself to a sitting position with his back leaning against the bathtub and his knees bent with his feet flat on the ground and Johnny cradled on his lap. Then, he did what was quickly becoming second nature to him: he comforted Johnny, one arm staying around Johnny's waist where it was and the other reaching up so that he could run his fingers through Johnny's hair – a gesture which had always soothed Reed when he was a kid.

Reed knew his technique had worked when he felt Johnny practically melt into his body, wrap his legs around Reed's waist, and his tears come to a stop since he no longer felt the wet spot on his shirt growing. Reed was about to say something when Johnny, in a voice that was muffled by Reed's shoulder, admitted, "I don't wanna take a bath, Weed."

Reed had no idea how to respond to that so he asked the question he'd always asked in his high school and college chemistry classes, "Why?"

Reed felt Johnny tense and, thus, started rubbing soothing circles onto his back, upon which's effectiveness he felt more than heard Johnny say, "It huwts, Weed." And when he said that, Reed knew without a flicker of doubt that it had everything to do with Johnny's foster father and his desire to just spend five minutes alone in a room with the men to show him exactly what he thought about him increased exponentially.

He pushed all thoughts of revenge away and focused his attention on the little guy in his arms, "No, it doesn't Johnny. How about we try this: you can run your hand through the water...without going into the bathtub," he assured as Johnny's hand clenched around his shirt, "and you can tell me if it's too hot or too cold. You only have to go in when you think it's just right. What do you say, Buddy?" he asked as he rose from the ground and placed Johnny on his feet about five feet away from the bathtub, letting him choose.

Johnny didn't answer – not verbally, anyway – and scooted closer to the tub and, after squeezing his eyed shut and releasing a breath, leaned over the ceramic top of the tub and hesitantly placed his hand in the water that halfway filled the tub. He'd been expecting pain and, therefore, it took him a second to react when there wasn't any. The water was perfect and he told as much to Reed, "Okay, Weed, I's weady."

Reed mentally raised a fist in victory, when he heard Johnny say that and gently undressed Johnny until he was only in his underwear and then hefted him into the water. Then sitting on the little barstool that he'd placed next to the tub, he grabbed the vanilla-scented, bubble bath bottle and, to Johnny's delight, poured some in. He watched patiently, with a smile covering his face, as Johnny went about rolling his arms round and round in imitation of a wheel to create bubbles and, then, splashed about in it, for twenty minutes.

Ignoring the mess, he told Johnny, "All right, Buddy, that's enough. If I don't actually get you clean you mo…," he trailed off, not believing that he'd almost called Susie Johnny's mom and that he was starting to think of himself as the boy's father, but, after clearing his throat continued as if nothing had happened, "…sister would kill me."

That got a smile off of Johnny making Reed smile back as he grabbed the little, metal bucket that he'd placed on the ground next to the stool and then used it to scoop water from that tub. He then tilted Johnny's head back and said, "K, Buddy, I need you to close your eyes," and only after he'd obliged did he tip the bucket to let the water run through his hair.

He then told Johnny to keep his eyes closed as he squeezed a dollop of Pantene 2 in 1 into his hair and then rubbed it in, before rinsing it out. Then after repeating the ritual with soap, he took the plug out, letting the water drain out as he dried Johnny off. He then wrapped him up in the warm towel, lifted him into his arms, and headed for Johnny's room, catching Sue and Alice, who were carrying three bags each, in the living room.

Upon seeing Sue, Johnny wiggled impatiently in his arms and held his hands out to Sue in the common gesture that kids used when wanting to be picked up, "Susie!"

Spotting Johnny reaching for her and calling out, Sue dropped the bags onto the floor and walked closer, pecking Reed on the lips before reaching for Johnny who immediately latched onto her, forcing Reed to reluctantly let go.

He watched as Sue once more grabbed the bags and carried Johnny into his room asking, "Did you have fun with Reed?"

Reed felt a warm glow in his chest resulted from feelings of pride that he'd never felt before when Johnny answered, "Uh huh, I played wid bubbles and I took…" before his voice faded out as they moved further into the hallway away from him. God, he hopes the feeling never went away.

…TBC…

So whaddya think?

Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated.

*wishes really, _really _hard*hope you enjoyed it, yours truly, Brownie.


End file.
